Downtown diners don't have to worry about finding a decent meal. Several restaurants from Chronicle restaurant critic Alison Cook's Top 100* are right here in the very heart of Houston, including her No. 1, Oxheart. Here's a look at the best of downtown. (The numbers correspond to where they fall on Cook's list.)

1. Oxheart

This tiny Warehouse District restaurant may just represent the future of Houston dining. Chef Justin Yu's food is that personal, that precise, and that daring in its refusal to let major hunks of protein dominate its painterly plates. Three tasting menus are offered each evening - four courses for a modest $49; seven for $75; and a vegetable-centric four-course "Garden menu" for $49, reflecting Yu's time at Napa Valley's vegetarian mecca, Ubuntu. These very modern meals, assembled with meticulous technique, would attract notice in any of Europe's or America's food capitals. Yet Yu's cuisine could be served nowhere but Houston. Striking baked goods and desserts by Yu's wife, pastry chef Karen Man, round out the constantly changing bill of fare. There are only 31 seats, so book well ahead.

In a city where burger culture runs deep, Ricky Craig is the high-strung, exacting face of our current hamburger Renaissance. As chef-owner and jack of all trades, he has made his original downtown slot-in-the-wall famous not with costly grades of beef and fancy fixings, but with straightforward ingredients handled with extreme care. His hand-formed, never-frozen chuck patties shed juice beneath their forceful sear. His house-baked buns have an idiosyncratic, focaccia-style spring to them. Factor in distinguished hand-cut, twice-fried potatoes and you have destination dining in an improbably small, raffish space with limited hours (11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and it's cash only).

Chef-owner Irma Galvan's colorful magpie universe, paved floor to ceiling with knickknacks and thingamabobs, is one of the most delightful dining environments imaginable. Her homestyle Mexican breakfasts and plate lunches are further cause for rejoicing. Pristine guacamole, fruit-packed lemonade and flavor-trippy frijoles a la charra are among the brilliant details that show Galvan's dedication to quality. Order the enchiladas Mexicanas (queso fresco in a resonant red chile gravy) or the major-league pork tamales and you'll understand why the James Beard Foundation named Irma's one of its America's Classics.

Chef Bryan's Caswell's ode to Gulf seafood, seen through Houston's multicultural lens, remains an important restaurant. This is where the Gulf bycatch movement utilizing lesser-known species got its first real public stage, and Caswell's sportsman-like zest for our fishery still informs the menu. The cooking may not be as reliably sharp as it was when the restaurant was young, and Caswell, now a celebrity, is less present. But when the kitchen hits, it's clear why the pared-down former auto showroom rumbles with a happy masculine din. Old faves like the kinilaw, a Filipino-inspired ceviche of crab in lime-coconut broth, are deft and clean. New ideas like roasted grouper with roasted cauliflower and fried pickled okra pods show regional wit. Want meat? The gigantic smoky pork chop with Napa cabbage and cherry mustard is practically a tourist attraction.

Don't look for the usual epic Vietnamese/Chinese menu at this sweetly contemporary family-run spot east of downtown. The menu is smartly edited and the Vietnamese soups, noodles, rice plates and stir-fries have a careful, homespun appeal. Mama Huynh's handmade rice-noodle wrappers, their texture a cool gossamer satin, set the restaurant apart. Have them rolled around simple chargrilled pork and greenery (banh uot thit nuong), or in any of the ban cuon dishes. Duck salad, duck vermicelli soup with fermented bamboo and chile-zapped lemongrass tofu all sparkle.

Chef Carlos Rodriguez and his capable team make this flashy downtown spot more than just another expensive meat-and-potato palace. Yes, the USDA Prime steaks can be terrific. The lobsters, too. But the regionally inflected menu shines in unexpected ways, from nightly Gulf seafood specials to memorable crab cakes to plump quail with greens and Sriracha sauce. The wine list and the wines themselves are carefully tended. There's an inviting marble counter with a kitchen view for solo diners. Even the ever-evolving house burger and hand-cut, sea-salt fries (served in the bar, and on Fridays in the main room, too) are things of beauty. End result? A local landmark with a distinctly Houston flavor.

Milanese chef Maurizio Ferrarese has brought this downtown hotel restaurant back onto the radar with his disciplined Italian cooking. He's a classicist with a few modern tricks up his sleeve. His housemade pastas can be excellent; they change seasonally, but look for things like paccheri with spicy little lamb meatballs or elegant gnocchi with bacon, shrimp and tomato. He's wonderful with meats (veal osso buco with a lacy-crisp cake of saffron risotto; lamb chop and shank; letter-perfect Milanese), and he can reel out a deep, deceptively simple soup like a puree of caramelized salsify.

By sheer force of personality, chef-owner and natural-born host Minh Nguyen transforms his EaDo banh mi and noodle shop into a warm, homespun restaurant that's like nothing else in town. By day, he dispenses carefully made baguette sandwiches, the standout featuring cloud-light pork meatballs (xiu mai), and such treats as surprisingly good vegan pho or gorgeous made-to-order Autumn rolls, their cool rice paper wrapped around coins of Chinese sausage, jicama, herbs and vermicelli. His rustic turnip pancake (banh bot chien) ranks as a destination dish. By night, on Thursdays and Fridays only, white tablecloths and subdued lighting transform the space into a BYOB bistro with a three-course prix fixe menu for a bargain $20. Choices might include gently spiced spareribs, a stout Vietnamese pancake folded around chargrilled pork and herbs, with finger bananas fried in a crunchy batter for dessert. With a backdrop of Big Band Swing, marimba music and Minh's entertaining patter, it's a delightful experience.

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Entree price range: $

Where: 2108 Pease St.

Phone: 713-225-4766

* And note, our critic is currently hard at work on her next edition of the list; so look for new additions and rankings this summer.